After defeating the goblin priest, the party continued to journey further into Castle Cragmaw, searching for Gundren.

They encountered a group of group of hobgoblins (next to the owlbear tower) and quickly dispatched them. Unfortunately, I messed up the encounter and the owlbear wasn't released. They decided not to open the barred door and to continue searching.

They made it to the King's Quarters and fought a pitched battle with Grol, Snarl, and Vyerith. The doppleganger really did some damage to Mojo. It was honestly the first time in a session or two that someone was really worried about going down. Still the heroes prevailed (as heroes tend to do). They healed Gundren and decided to bar themselves in the room for the night.

While exiting the next morning they encountered Targor Bloodsword's hunting party. Words were exchanged and things quickly escalated. The hobgoblins released the owlbear, two stayed and fired bows, while Targor and another circled back around to get next to the Saarkson. Rolen took some serious wounds from the owlbear and I think his player, Remy, thought he might die. Of course, no one did.

The party regrouped with Droop, their henchman. This led to some funny dialogue between Gundren and his cousin Rogar. While on the way back to town the party was ambushed by bugbears. I have to say this was the first time I've actually been able to surprise the party with bugbears and it was nasty. Going to be honest, I really wanted to KO Saarkson in that encounter. I also used this as an opportunity to reveal that Droop may be more than he seems. I still haven't decided what he is. He's most likely a goblin agent of another organization, but he might be a doppelganger, or even a polymorphed dragon (because, why not).

After arriving back in town the party decided they wanted to explore the manor about the former Redbrand hideout. This isn't in the module so I had to describe everything on the fly. They found a random note that read "Thomas, Its in Baldur's Gate, the rose garden, behind the angel." I have plenty of time to figure out what this means.

They met with Gundren, who offered them a share of the profits, if they helped liberate the lost mine and stop the Black Spider. Sildar also offered them the deed to the manor that they had just explored. The next morning they would go to the mines, but that night they would celebrate with Gundren and Sildar.

The party then decided to go to the Shrine of Luck to speak with Sister Garaele. They informed her of the desecrated temple in Castle Cragmaw. She rewarded them with the Dice of Saint Rogers (pronounced with a French accent), considered to be a Tymoraian relic. I haven't decided if they will have any crunchy game effects yet. Rolen hit on Sister Garaele and they decided to meet for drinks at the tavern.

Up until this point there hasn't been a lot of roleplaying in this campaign. We only get to play every other week and our time is limited. There's a lot of excitement and we tend to rush through encounters. That's why I encouraged the party to celebrate their victories thus far. The npc's prompted some discussion and everyone seemed to have fun. A drunken Mojo revealed his trinket, a aberrant statue that caused him nightmares and his only tie to his parents. Saarkson (who's warlock pact is with outer gods) was quite interested. Sister Garaele sketched the statue and promised to look into it. I think this will be my hook to get Mojo to join the Harpers. After everyone else went to bed a drunken Rolen pulled out his trinket (a black flag with a dragon skull and crossbones). He loudly asked everyone in the bar if anyone knew what it meant.

I used this as an opportunity to introduce Leosin Erlanthar, a character in Hoard of the Dragon Queen. He
warned Rolen to keep the flag hidden, that it was tied to the Cult of the Dragon, and to meet him in Greenest for more information.

The next morning Saarkson received a note from his Zhent contact telling him to collect any journals/letters that the Black Spider has.